The simple white jade pendant lands in the girl's hand, then takes flight again, only to be caught once more.
It resembles a pure white butterfly, flitting at her fingertips.
This white jade is of superior rank, though somewhat peculiar, as faint marks of three characters can still be seen on one side, seemingly originally there, but later forcibly ground away by someone, yet oddly those three characters are not about blessings and prosperity, nor poetic elegance, upon careful inspection, they appear to be "one thousand taels."
But how could anyone in the world carve these three characters on their personal jade artifact?
Jade is elegant, yet the words are vulgar.
Fortunately, the jade's quality is exceptional, redeeming it somewhat, at both ends of the pendant, small round holes are drilled with expert craftsmanship, matched by a red cord at the top for wearing at the waist, and below, it has pale gold tassels that flutter, carrying an air of wealth.
Faint outlines of biting dragon and sparrow patterns can be seen on the pendant.
The superior quality white jade, resting in the girl's fair palms, one may wonder which shines brighter.
Li QiWu playfully toys with the pendant in her hand, gazing at the sky outside the palace walls. She cannot help but reflect on the experiences in Xiong City in the Northwest last year, those thrilling adventures, she fears she'll never forget them in her lifetime. As she thinks, she becomes lost in thought, her fingers brush the pendant without turning it.
The close maidservant lightly coughs, and Li QiWu blinks, returning to reality, and calmly puts the coarse pendant she's been handling into her precious box. Then she tidies her clothes and arranges her long hair at her temples, sitting upright beside the table. Thıs content belongs to n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
She then picks up the pen and dips it in ink, deliberately letting the ink swirl longer in the inkstone, as if it has thoroughly steeped, and only then, unhurriedly, props her chin with one hand while her delicate brows furrow, seemingly lost in deep contemplation.
Only moments later, footsteps can be heard, and the maid outside curtsies, her voice charming and clear:
"Indeed, the teacher has arrived, today he is early."
An aged voice responds with a smile, saying:
"Qing'er, you are too polite, this old body isn't as fragile as you think, how is the Princess now?"
"Today, did she play too much?"
"Not at all, the Princess is hard at work inside. She has been reflecting deeply on her inadequacies in learning ever since His Majesty reproved her a few days ago, rising early today to read diligently, driving us all out."
"Haha, you do know how to talk."
"If the Princess truly does as you say, I shall have no regrets."
The maid only smiles, as the conversation marks the two's entrance. Leading them is an old man with a head of white hair, dressed in a casual outfit, a silver fish pouch at his waist, exuding presence, while two steps behind is a graceful maid of eighteen or nineteen in a sky-blue palace gown, seemingly an official, she smiles gently at Li QiWu from behind the elder.
The old man enters, immediately adjusting his clothing, then bows respectfully, saying:
"Greetings, Princess..."
Li QiWu holds up the elder, not allowing him to truly bow, feigning annoyance, saying:
"Teacher, if you do this again, I'll have to tell Grandfather Emperor, so you won't be allowed to come anymore."
The elder, supported by her, rises smoothly, chuckling as he says:
"Rules cannot be disregarded, rules cannot be disregarded."
"Qing'er says the Princess is working hard, how is her progress? Let's see, let the teacher take a look."
Li QiWu nods, obediently replying, "Regarding schoolwork, of course, I still rely on you, Teacher, but while military texts are different from Confucian or Mohist texts, there are also many profound and difficult parts. I still have some questions here, not quite clarified..."
The girl in the sky-blue palace attire, seeing the elder indeed led away in contemplation, smiles faintly, thinking how Elder Hua is still persistent . This character, while conducive to academic success, can at times be inconvenient, as evident now, having been easily fooled by the Princess.
For anyone else, it would not be resolved this easily.
Even though she thinks this, her demeanor remains impeccable.
She is not an ordinary girl from a typical family, only daughters and sons from noble clans are eligible to serve in the palace as companions and attendants for the Princes and Princesses. While officially called companions, they are essentially playmates, growing up together, naturally becoming confidants, their affection deep and closer than blood relations.
She then turns out to bring exquisite snacks and flower tea, kneeling beside them to brew the tea.
The elder, meanwhile, earnestly analyzes the questions Li QiWu casually posed for a moment. The elder is a rare military theorist of the noble clan in Heaven Capital City, and Li QiWu, pampered princess, by no means needs to learn these matters, those days when certain literary scholars caused uproar, His Majesty laughed it off, and those scholars then appealed to the Former Emperor.
Only to be kicked out by the Former Emperor.
While brewing tea, Qing'er suddenly feels envious; though they hail from noble clans, with wealth and status envied by outsiders, much of their actions are beyond their own control, strictly speaking, the family takes precedence even over their lives.
To be here, as an official, is already extremely fortunate.
A cousin already married last year, they grew up together, with the child listening to her study, playing ball games together, initially expecting it to last forever, but now knowing, it is unlikely they will meet again in this lifetime.
However, compared to the girl before her, her heart is filled with admiration; there have been few people like His Majesty and Former Emperor throughout history, not believing women less than men, whatever a grandson can do, a granddaughter naturally can as well.